§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the countries with which her Department held discussions in 1998 with regard to the use of child labour for making goods imported into the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [89925]
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§ Clare ShortThere have been no direct bilateral discussions, but throughout 1998 and 1999, the Government has actively participated in joint discussions with other members of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the causes of child labour and how best to combat it. We have also continuously supported the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), and the adoption of the new International Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The Convention, adopted by consensus at the International Labour Conference in June this year, aims to put an end to the intolerable exploitation of children in hazardous work, conditions of slavery, and practices similar to slavery.